While in actuality there is little the government can do about this problem, it doesn't have the technical competence, Obama bought the tar baby when campaigning with the government is the solution to all of our problems mantra. At least Bush had a legal argument in that as president he could not order the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans to evacuate New Orleans. Obama does not have that luxury. The drilling occurred on a federal leased plot, the drilling was under federal regulation and there was a federal plan of action for such a contingency. Its Obama's fault, 100%. If it was good enough for Bush its more than deserving for Obama.

He said part of his comprehensive immigration package would include immigrants learning English. Full support on that, but how in the hell do you legislate that? How do they check it? What are the penalties if you don't become proficient? Graded on a curve by age (older=easier milestones)?

That and achor babies are two of the big issues that nobody every seems to want to solve.

He said part of his comprehensive immigration package would include immigrants learning English.

You'd think that if you plan on residing in any country for longer than six months you'd make an effort to learn the damn language. I mean provided the country didn't bend over backwards to ensure you didn't have to by pressing 1 for Espanol for service.

i think people who say they miss Bush either miss having someone to laugh at, or just prefer to have so little information that they feel secure about a situation -- even if that security is false. sure there is short term emotional value in knowing less about a complicated situation; but I'd rather not be lied to. I like that that the President is actively engaged in the complexities and presenting us with a more realistic picture of what he's dealing with.

OK, this may be seen at "piling on" but since the President will use this incident as a catalyst for more green jobs,this further points out the adverse economic consequences of trying to create a green economy

He began by saying the govt. had approved the "top kill" approach yesterday which leaves me to believe he is confident it will work. I am not sure if he was asked when the request was received to use this method: was it just yesterday or has it been in the works for a while. I don't think this question was asked by the professionally curious.

The schools create special programs to teach your child how terrible the gringo American is and how we stole your land. Even though it was really the Spanish who did this...nevermind.

If you do it right you never ever have to speak English and you still get all the free goodies that Hoosier and I and the rest of us schmucks pay for through our taxes.

Why bother learning English. You don't have to. Why even bother learning anything about the country you are living in because you really don't consider yourself a citizen of that country or give a rat's patooty about it anyway.

Once the spill happened, BP necessarily would have to be "in charge" of capping the well. However, BP was limited to what had been previously authorized (Plan A) for what they could do to control the spread of the spill, and of course had no authority to exercise emergency civil powers on their own. The Obama administration failed to step into this gap, even just to order the EPA and the Corps to stop hindering the State and local efforts.

Bush wasn't to blame for the Hurricane. NO one says that. Instead he [or the Fed government] was to blame for a slow response once the flooding started. One can be the judge of that.

No one is saying Obama [and the Fed government] is without fault. However, he seems to pretty much be doing all he and the government can do at this point. The key really is the clean-up after plugging the leak. But plugging this thing is really tough. The best, the brightest and a hugh amount of money hasn't stopped it yet.

Instead he [or the Fed government] was to blame for a slow response once the flooding started. One can be the judge of that.

I don't want to rehash that old argument again but did the Governor of LA and the Mayor of NO bear any responsibility whatsoever? Did they even attempt an evacuation they they knew days before they were going to be hammered? Any at all? Bueller? Anyone?

Bush wasn't to blame for the Hurricane. NO one says that. Instead he [or the Fed government] was to blame for a slow response once the flooding started. One can be the judge of that.

And people who say that don't look at the time lines of when federal assistance was requested, nor at the laws preventing the use of federal resources prior to that. The reality is that the federal government was begging the governor to request assistance and for the mayor to order the evacuation.

No one is saying Obama [and the Fed government] is without fault. However, he seems to pretty much be doing all he and the government can do at this point. The key really is the clean-up after plugging the leak. But plugging this thing is really tough. The best, the brightest and a huge amount of money hasn't stopped it yet.

First of all, the obvious. Bush was condemned for waiting 4 days to show up there. How long did it take for Obama to show? To compound that, how many vacations has he had during that time? Golf games? Fund raisers for Barbara Boxer?

What else could the federal government have done?- Allow the construction of berms to prevent oil from reaching sensitive wetlands. Apparently currently awaiting an environmental impact statement, as the oil continues to flow ashore. - Used government power to get as many boats and ships out there with booms- Deny BP the authority to force the oil underwater (or something like that).

I am sure that there are other things that they could have done. But at present, all that the Administration seems to have done is to repeatedly talk sternly to BP, and maybe even sending them even more stern notes.

Hoosier: During Katrina the governor of La. and the Mayor of NO were Democrats. They are responsible for calling for studies and grants and for dishing out the proceeds of tax collections to their friends and supporters. I am not sure otherwise what your question was.

And Matt and Danielle;So you know where I'm coming from, I don't see this as Obama's Katrina other than it's happening to Louisiana and it involves the fed's response to an ongoing disaster. Other than that "Katrina" is a stretch.

I would however suggest its Bobby Jindal's Katrina. And by that I mean How the Louisiana Governor addresses an ongoing disaster while communicating with the public and collaborating with the feds and dealing with an administration of the other party

I'm not there on the ground so I can't judge but from afar he seems to be doing a bit better than Gov. Blanco.

And for all of this I can only quote .....yes, George Bush:Its hard work

He said part of his comprehensive immigration package would include immigrants learning English. Full support on that, but how in the hell do you legislate that? How do they check it? What are the penalties if you don't become proficient? Graded on a curve by age (older=easier milestones)?

I'm a naturalized U.S. citizen so I'm quite familiar with the process. The naturalization examination included a portion of text dictated in English and we were required to answer questions on based on the dictated passage. If you didn't have some minimal proficiency in English you couldn't pass the text.

Also, every candidate is required to have an interview with an immigration officer; that interview is only conducted in English.

The Zero's tap dancing around what to do in future is predicated on the fact that most forms of energy have some risk - coal has mine cave ins (Alpha, anyone?), crude has spills of various types, nuclear has radiation, wind can spoil the Kennedy's view.

The environuts will scream whatever is done unless it's a policy that makes sure nothing is done. Thus The Zero has (thanks, Lars)

—Suspended planned exploration of two locations off the coast of Alaska.

—Canceled pending lease sales in Gulf and Virginia.

—Continued existing moratorium and suspend new permits for deep water wells for six months.

—Halted action on dozens of wells currently being drilled in the Gulf.

And only the environuts will be happy.

Scott M said...

He said part of his comprehensive immigration package would include immigrants learning English.

This from someone who thinks people in Vienna speak Austrian. I have a feeling he hasn't the foggiest notion of how difficult it can be to learn a language.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

You don't have to learn the language anymore.

You live in a barrio where everyone speaks Spanish.

All the signs are printed in your language.

That could describe many neighborhoods in this country during the first 50 years of the last century and the last 50 of the previous. The street where I grew up was half Sicilian and had many families where the older adults knew only a few words of English, if that.

Of course, the Demos love the barrio because anyone who can't speak English isn't going very far in this country and will have to depend on government

How exactly did Bambi "do" anything here? Somehow BP was thinking "Geez, I wonder what we should do about this leak when we have this technology which could stop the leak, but I dunno, maybe we should just let it spew." [RADIO VOICEOVER] "This just in: Bambi says 'Plug the damn hole.'" [SOUND OF GROUP OF WHITE MALES SMACKING THEIR FOREHEADS IN UNISON] "Why the hell didn't we think of that? ALL HAIL GLORIOUS LEADER!"

Where is the brave reporter that will ask THE QUESTION. "Since you have already admitted that, at birth, because your father was Kenyan, that you were born a dual citizen with Britain, how is it possible that you are a Natural Born Citizen?"

It would be worthwhile to relook at Bruce Hayden's post about governing legislation for disaster--The operative statue is the stafford act which puts the ball into the locals court until such time as the governor request federal assistance--and when the governor requests such assistance the federal role is limited. Fema is a recovery qgency not a response agency, and thats a pretty significant issue--the National Response Framework governs the particulars. The other two statutes that control are the insurrection act and posse comitatus,s although these are less relevant in this case.

Rush said the defining moment was at the end when O's daughter asked if he had fixed the leak. That about sums up his desire to take credit if things work.

I live in Louisiana and am depressed at the fact that everything has to pass through the Federal government and several agencies before anyone can do anything. The fact that we have to have an EPA statement to push some sand around is typical of what is wrong with our country. It seems that every disaster is made much worse as a consequence of the government getting in our way. During Katrina they would not let citizens use their own boats to rescue people as they did not have enough life preservers or seats.

No BC is needed. He has already admitted the fact that makes him ineligible. His father was not a citizen, and Obama Jr. was born a dual citizen. As such he cannot possibly be a Natural Born Citizen, eligible for the Presidency.

I can't watch him either- but I tend to feel that way about all presidents, eventually. Maybe all politicians. They always sound like no one you would ever trust in your daily life to do anything for you.

I actually feel sorry for him, and the country, because he seems so lost, in over his head.

At times so do I. But then I remember that this is a man who claimed to be ready from day one- he was billed to be the most brilliant president ever. And a year and a half in he is whining about how hard the job is, what a mess he inherited, and blaming his predecessors, his opposition, racists, anyone and everyone but himself, for the problems he is encountering.

If you had a new boss, who frequently whined about how tough his job was, who after a year continued to blame his predecessor for the existing unresolved problems that he was hired to fix, and who pointed the finger at others for new problems that pop up under his watch, would you respect him?

At some point when you take on a job, if you are finding it too taxing (no pun intended), you need to admit - even if only to yourself- that you are in over your head. Admitting that means facing the fact that maybe your tactics are ineffective. A smart person would then seek the advice of executives with proven track records- not other intellectuals with theories and no real world experience.

He should definitely not seek reelection if the most decisive thing he can do is whine and finger-point.

There's not much Obama could have done in this crisis save expedite requests by Louisiana for various oil mitigation efforts.

I do find it interestingly that Obama suddenly shows up when BP has succeeded in their main effort to stop the oil flow. He's akin to the fire chief that cowers in his office until the fire is out and then shows up and takes command.

No one is saying Obama [and the Fed government] is without fault. However, he seems to pretty much be doing all he and the government can do at this point.

There appears right now that there was a NOAA reaction plan in place since the 1990s that included burning the oil, starting immediately. The government dawdled, and then when the winds shifted, refused on those grounds. It will be interesting to see if the pending FOIA requests show up side communications with environmental groups even at that early date.

"The administration's chief response so far was to send out Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to do his best impersonation of a totalitarian thug, proclaiming that the government would "have its boot on the throat of BP."

(Fun fact: While in the Senate, Salazar backed an increase in oil and gas leases in the Gulf Coast region by promoting and voting for the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.)

#1) Reassure us by releasing your educational records - grades, papers, SAT and LSAT scores, etc. We gave you the benefit of doubt before, but this is getting ridiculous.

#2) For South Korea's sake, please at least pretend you can mutlitask.

#3) Worry what Al Queda thinks of your crisis management skills. Because you just told them it will take your administration weeks to respond to a passive attack. Good thing this wasn't some radiation or biological attack.

#4) Take a few months off. Let Bill hold the fort down. He can even have Angelina as an intern. We'll call you when its cool for you to come back.

Oh and, don't freakin glare at me like that, you petulant litle brat. No more tantrums. No more lashing out. No more SEIU and MoveOn goon squads.

Weeks prior to the BP rig explosion, you stated that off-shore drilling was not risky. On what sources did you base that conclusion? Did those sources address the risk of the situation we have now in the Gulf?

There would be followup questions based on the responses to the above.

Allahpundit: ... even some lefties were laughing at on Twitter. After solemnly insisting that “the federal government is fully engaged and I’m fully engaged,” The One admits he’s … not quite sure what happened with the head of MMS this morning because he was busy with a bunch of other important stuff at the time. Like, for instance, meeting with the Duke basketball team.

#5) Mr. President, what are your qualifications again? Other than being a Community Organzier.

#6) Can we also review Salazar's quals? Just to be certain there wasn't anything like bribery involved with his appointment to Interior Secretary. I'm sure you understand.

#7) That reminds me. Since America is at war right now, would you mind taking care of this Sestak impeachment charge? Because if its going to become an issue for you down the road, we need to start looking now for someone else to do your job (Bill can explain on your way out).

We now go to JustLurking, who's covering the President's little pickup game with the Duke Basketball squad:

Just Lurking: Mr President. Weeks prior to the BP rig explosion, you stated that off-shore drilling was not risky. On what sources did you base that conclusion? Did those sources address the risk of the situation we have now in the Gulf?

President Obama: Bush ate my homework [dribble dribble] can I drop this class?

BTW I heard even Chrissy Mathews has fallen out of love with Obama. I hope Althouse posts that video- it's dyn-o-mite! But I think Mathews may hae a bias against Asian- Americans and Nobel Prize winners.

Danielle: i think people who say they miss Bush either miss having someone to laugh at, or just prefer to have so little information that they feel secure about a situation -- even if that security is false

7 million Israelis, 72 million Iranians, 30 million Iraqis,48 million South Koreans

Miss Bush. And don't feel very secure in his absence.

[...]

Has anyone found Bill yet? We need to get busy changing the 22nd Amendment.

Someone made the astute comment in another thread that unfortunately government incompetence is rewarded by an expansion of more layers of govt bureaucrats to oversee the other incompetent bureaucrats. And rather than enforce existing regulations, new regulations are enacted, ad infinitum- adding up to crippling amounts of red-tape in every industry they touch.

This is not good. The public sector will no doubt, ultimately bankrupt this country- if it hasn't already with unfunded pensions. The existential question is, how do we stop this?

The bowingest of all US Presidents has been bowing continually to British Petroleum for a month in hope that the real world will go away if he uses denial. That is why everybody is finally fed up with his style of not leading when he can find any way to shove it under the rug.

As others said we don't have them yet. But even if we did, what's to say that they would be clean or wouldn't have accidents along with them. For example. Hydropower requires dams. How much environmental damage is done constructing a dam and what if one collapses one day and floods either a town or an area. You could find similar nightmare scenarios for almost any of the so called "clean" energies. Even the clean energies that don't have this potential calamitous dowside, like say wind power (though I can envision some serious issues here as well)will require us to basically invest huge amounts of land and resources to put the thing into effect, which will have it's own environmental impact. Imagine for example if we had to use solar power to power manhattan. Impossible, I know. But even if it were possible, how much land and resources would be required to setup the amount of solar power required to fuel a major city? Even if we had solar panels on every building it woudn't be enough. Then you run into issues of cariving up the environment to put the requisite generators in place not to mention questions of eminent domain etc etc etc. It aint gonna happen for decades if not centuries. Most likely never. So you make do with the resources you have that are the most efficient and the cheapest.And, despite this latest spill oil is still very safe. How many oil spills have there been in the past 20 years? Not very many. Certainly when they happen they are devastating, but giving up on oil beause of the potential downside is even worse. Think of this as the Apollo 13 mission. It was a catastrophe. it required people in Nasa to basically, on the fly, come up with a way to get a shuttle back home that had never been done before and required massive man hours and tons of ingenuity to get it done. However, would people suggest that because of apollo 13 we abwndon the space program?

Just Lurking asked:"The existential question is, how do we stop this [the growth of govt]?"

We don't have to. They will stop themselves with their own serial failures including 911 intelligence failures, bad Iraq WMD intel, Katrina, insolvent cities, states and govt employee pension funds, Fannie & Freddie boondoggles, ill-conceived, ineffective Spendulus and now this oil leak. Has the leak been named yet? If not, Althouse should hold a naming contest for it.

Bush wasn't to blame for the Hurricane. NO one says that. Instead he [or the Fed government] was to blame for a slow response once the flooding started. One can be the judge of that.

The government audits its own performance in disasters like Katrina. Some months after the event, it was reported that the response to Katrina exceeded all prior metrics for disaster relief by a significant margin. They essentially confirmed that this was the best our Federal government has ever done at that kind of job.

By that time the damage was done, however, and public opinion ranged from moderate disappointment to fire-breathing accusations that Bush personally ordered ten thousand black people shot dead and thrown into the bayous while the storm was still raging.

The relief effort was not enough to prevent great suffering, but a lot of that was due to the sheer gigantic size and power of the storm. Moreover, New Orleans is mostly below sea level, and thus will not spontaneously drain off floodwaters once the surge has passed. Combine that with the neolithic incompetence on the part of state and local authorities in the days leading up to landfall, and it's no wonder that it became a fiasco. The result would have been the same if it were Barack Obama or General Eisenhower leading the effort.

You know of course that Obama uncapped our government liability for their losses (up from a 200 billion cap).

and that the 2 of them are lossing 10 billion a quarter?

and that FHA is now doing the same stupid shit in order to prop up the housing market and postpone the inevitable slide down to stable ( and historical) price levels. In doing so, FHA is now insolvent and going to crash.